Fee Transparency

Fee Transparency

Talking About Fees

Planning for legal fees is important and we believe it’s an essential topic of conversation for clients who are unlucky, or lucky, enough not to qualify for legal aid (which we are happy to offer for those who are eligible).  

How Are Our Fees calculated? 

This is an interesting question that not enough people probably ask their lawyer. We are very interested in it though because it’s part of our job to get it right. A lot of lawyers just charge a figure because they think the lawyer down the street charges something similar or the old place where they used to work charged the same. We don’t think this is how it should be. Fees should be worked out exactly and not just made up by picking a number that sounds plausible.

These figures shown here are just a guide as sometimes things are more straightforward than other times and that is often reflected in the costs.

Review of Costs

We review our fees every year to work out what costs are sustainable. This year we have raised our fees by 10% across the board. This bigger than usual increase is because a previous increase had been held back for as long as possible. You might notice that our initial consultation fee is £82.50 plus vat. This unusual figure comes about because it’s exactly 10% more than it was in November 2013 when our firm opened for business. 
 
Each year our costs go up because of inflation and if we didn’t raise our costs we would either have to lower our staff pay or try to fill our diaries with more cases to make up the difference. Neither of those is a good option. Neither would also particularly help your case. We can’t help but think that if costs don’t go up each year then the only possible outcome is that quality goes down. Quality is important to us. It’s our main product.

What is included in our fees?


Our plan is no secret. We want the best lawyers and support staff, working the smartest way possible with the best equipment and delivering the best service for happy and successful clients.


Our staff have top of the range laptops and we all use the latest online digital case management system. These things are expensive but they are worth it and clients see the benefit of it every day when we get things done on time and on budget.

 

We also still have our modern serviced office facilities which naturally have to be paid for. Over the years we have expanded into new office space in the same building. We are now the longest serving tenant in the building. The building is a great asset to us and clients. And not just because of the big free car park right outside the door. 

 

To get the job done we also use various other apps and services that other law firms might not use. Again, these are expensive but not having them would be unacceptable to us. We keep looking for new ways to spend our technology budget on ways to help us make things better. We also want to keep our staff salaries moving upwards as we reward the ever-increasing experience and loyalty of our team.


Finally, if you do not qualify for legal aid (which we take pride in offering) then we do not and never will offer a free initial consultation.

 

If we did, then the whole service would fall apart, or worse, end in a steep and prolonged decline. That’s because when you wanted to see us or when we needed to do something for you urgently, we wouldn’t be able to, because we would be too busy having free initial appointments with other prospective clients.

 

In the short term, a free appointment might sound too good to refuse. But later on, when you needed us and couldn’t get hold of us you would start to realise that it wasn’t just you who gets a free appointment. You might start to think the benefit of a “free initial meeting” was short lived. Besides, we offer meaningful advice right from the start of your consultation. We don’t want to spend all our time giving people a sales pitch. We’d rather just get on with getting the job done and sorting out your problem on time and on budget. If that’s not for everyone then that’s a risk, we are willing to take.


Our Fees


Please have a look at the rough guide below to get an idea of what a hypothetical situation might cost. 



We look forward to meeting with you.



Your first family law consultation will cost £82.50 plus Vat.

 

We offer a package which includes your first family law consultation and taking the first steps needed to resolve matters that costs £165.00 Plus vat.

 

If your family law problems are resolved and you need them set down in a minute of agreement, then this will normally cost £660.00 plus vat.

 

For us to get you divorced if you have kids under 16 but nothing else needs sorted then it will cost £850.00 plus vat and outlays.

 

 

If you want us to raise or defend a Court action about children, then the costs for getting the Court action up and running is £850.00 plus vat and outlays.

 

Similarly, if you want a court action lodged suing someone or a business for money or another form of claim then that will cost £850.00 plus Vat to get it up and running. More specialist types of action can cost more because often there are extra steps that can be taken to try and secure a positive result.

 

If you would like us to get you a residence order and no one is likely to object then it costs £850.00 plus vat and outlays. It’s the same price for adoption.

 

It costs £350.00 plus vat and outlays for us to prepare and lodge a Power of Attorney for you.

 

If you would like us to be notarise something for you then it will cost £55.00 plus vat unless there are lots of documents that is obviously going to take longer.

 

Other general prices to look at it include:

 

Having a Lawyer working for you all day in Court which costs around £1,000.00 per day although this would depend exactly on the job you wanted the lawyer to do.

 

Our hourly rates are £250.00 per hour for the Principal Solicitor and our Senior Legal Consultant and £220.00 per hour for a solicitor.

 

Criminal cases require a lot of work behind the scenes before any Court case. It’s never a case of just turning up at Court on the day, doing a short hearing and then sending out a bill.

 

We make no bones about the fact that our criminal practice is a premium, specialist service. If you have entrusted us with defending you against prosecution, then fees are bespoke to your situation but will never be less than £750.00 plus vat for the preparation and initial attendance at Court for your hearing. When we are defending you, you will probably be the only client we are looking after at Court that day.

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